Clinton man credits Hill Air Force Base co-workers for saving his life

CLINTON — Bruce Jarvis and his wife, Denise, have been holding hands for 41-½ years. Thanks to his co-workers, they have more time to do so.

"I will always be grateful," he said.

Jarvis, 62, of Clinton, works at Hill Air Force Base making airplane parts. On Oct. 17, he came in around 5:30 a.m. and collapsed.

"I don't remember a thing," he said. "That morning to me was just a blank."

His co-workers remember that day well.

"We ran to him, and he was unresponsive, struggling to breathe," Patrick Mulligan said.

Co-workers called 911 and did what they could for him until help arrived. What they didn't know was that Jarvis was going into cardiac arrest. But a co-worker remembered they had recently obtained a defibrillator in the shop, ran to get it and started working on Jarvis.

Bruce Jarvis with his wife Denise. He collapsed at work on Oct. 17. (Family Photo, courtesy of Jackie Kearl, Alex Cabrero, Deseret News)

"We saw our friend go down, and we just went to his aid," Chuck Ecker said. "You're looking at him and you're saying, 'Come on, Bruce. Come on,' you know? It was hard."

Paramedics took Jarvis to the hospital, and doctors told him his co-workers and that defibrillator probably saved his life.

"I'm just honored to have been at the right place at the right time for my friend," Mulligan said. "We had a miracle happen here."

"They talk about how miracles happen every day? Yeah, this is a miracle," Ecker said.